1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates, generally, to devices having utility in practicing or playing the game of golf. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus that automatically places a golf ball on a tee.
2. Description of Related Art
Since those who want to play the game of golf well must invest many hours of practice thereinto, driving ranges have been established so that golfers desiring to practice their tee shot may stand in one location and hit numerous shots without having to retrieve the balls.
Typically, a golfer pays a fee to the owner of a driving range for a bucket containing a predetermined number of golf balls. The bucket is carried to a concrete pad, typically covered with an artificial turf, and the golf balls are removed from the bucket, one at a time, and placed on a tee means that is mounted on the pad. After each ball has been hit, the golfer retrieves another ball from the bucket, places it on the tee, and makes another practice tee shot.
The act of retrieving balls from the bucket requires the golfer to bend over or to kneel or to stoop down. Moreover, the ball must be placed on a tee while the golfer remains in the bent, or kneeling or stooped position. Then, the golfer must return to a standing position to make the next shot.
The repeated bending and standing may increase the golfer's fatigue as the driving practice continues. Moreover, the time required to position a new ball on the tee after each shot ensures that emptying a single bucket of balls can take a substantial amount of time.
What is needed then, is a reliable device that will automatically position a new ball on a tee as soon as the tee shot has been made, thereby eliminating the kneeling, stooping and bending associated with manual ball deployment while improving a golfer's rhythm and timing and shortening the time required to complete a driving range session.
Devices intended to fulfill this need are known in the art. Known related art includes a golf ball tee machine depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,641 to Peyret, Jr. Although the device is operable, it is expensive to manufacture, is not as light weight as the present invention, and has several shortcomings. In operation, the device fails to pick up an unreasonably high percentage of balls, a high consumption of air is required to generate a high vacuum, balls tend to easily fall off the tee before the tee reaches a vertical position, and a distracting high decibel level is produced by the required powerful vacuum motor, such noise disturbing the usual tranquillity generally associated with a driving range. Further where the present invention utilizes control means to maneuver a tee from the position of ball pick-up to the vertical position for teeing a ball, Peyret, Jr. is directed to a constantly running belt with tee members in order to have the user time his swing to hit the balls. Further, the continuous belt system in Peyret, Jr. requires that the housing platform be eight to nine inches in height thereby making the Peyret, Jr. device awkward and unwieldy to use and requiring a step to step up onto the platform to comply with safety requirements.
Devices which obviate the shortcomings in Peyret, Jr. include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,549,299 and 5,645,491 to the inventor herein. The present invention provides for a substantially improved lightweight, portable and inexpensive apparatus for placing a golf ball on a tee over that of the prior art devices issued to the inventor herein. This new and improved apparatus when combined with a net is cost-effective such that an individual, as opposed to a driving range operator, can afford to turn the backyard, garage or office or any small area into a personal driving range. In addition, to teeing up standard golf balls, the present invention is capable of teeing foam and plastic practice golf balls.